Heyo Bookaholics!
Setting up document & Stages of NaNo planning process!
I’m creating this post for people like me who want to follow the NaNoWriMo story-planning guide PDF, but like flexibility and plan at a very high-level.
In this post, I will be using the high-level steps from the NaNoWriMo story-planning guide (which I haven’t linked because I forgot where I found it) and include the ways in which I applied them to my plan, including snippets of the plan for my MG NaNo WIP.
1. Develop a Story Idea
This is pretty simple. You’re probably doing NaNoWriMo because you have a spark of an idea, something that’s called to you to develop it out into something more.
Open up a document and jot this idea down. Write down as much of it as you can!! My “story idea” has evolved from a singular paragraph to almost 2,000 words of nonsensical ramblings that I add to periodically.
2. Create Complex Characters
Now you have your story idea, you need characters. This is where you talk about your characters, sort them into Hogwarts houses, find their favourite colour and state if they are an Apple or Android person.
I like adding facts in this part as well as a list of every single character to ever appear in my plan, even if they’re background/ minor characters.
3. Construct a Detailed Outline
Most of my outline grows off of my story idea like a fungus. If you’re more organised, you can condense everything into a little organised timeline for your novel.
Otherwise, I am working with something like this where I have planned out the number of chapters and their working names. I will be adding a two-line synopsis so I know what each chapter will be including.
4. Build a Strong World
I used this step to flesh out the genre of novel – for me it’s Middle-Grade Fantasy – as well as the physical locations that might appear within the novel. I am modelling places off of suburbs and houses I have been to.
Honestly, I find that this comes in the first three steps so I created a separate page in my planning document to flesh out the descriptions of the locations my characters go to.
5. Organise Your Life For Writing
This step and the sixth step are essentially the same. I am a timetable and planning freak! So when it came to planning out my time for writing I was all here for it.
Below is the start of my timeline. It details how much I plan to write each day in November from the 1st through to the 30th, factoring in pre-planned activities I have on each day that may hinder my writing too.
You may use this as a template for your own time organisation and planning. Do let me know if it helps you because if there is anything I love more than reading, it’s making schedules that I never follow.
6. Find and Manage Your Time WRITE!!!
When November 1st comes around, write! You have your plan, now all you have to do is write your novel as much as you can. The first draft will just be a rough one and there is no need to be a perfectionist about it (I say this as a perfectionist, hehe).
Good Luck Pre-Planning and Writing come November 1st!
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